This invention relates to a method of displaying information about communication on a network and a communication system using the method. More particularly, this invention relates to a method of displaying information in communication such as a mail system, a board system, a chat system, etc, and a communication system using the method.
Cases have increased nowadays where users who cannot discuss in person facing each other due to geographical conditions and time conditions can exchange their views while sharing information by utilizing a network environment such as the Internet.
Technologies for realizing communication on a network include mail, a board system and a chat system. Various contrivances have also been developed to insure smooth communication on the network among “faceless” parties (hereinafter called “participants”) that state and transmit any information.
For example, JP-A-11-312159 describes a communication method among users by using computer characters (avatars). This method generates an avatar having independent motion on the basis of a photo of an avatar generator, and changes the expression in accordance with the speech content or offers a voice message.
JP-A-11-203227 describes a screen expression method of speech content. This method changes a shape of a balloon and a display color for each speaker so as to express intention of the speaker or to visually stipulate the speaker. Since the speech content is displayed not only in the left-justify arrangement but also at random on the screen, expression power of the screen can be improved.
JP-A-2000-57327 describes a technology that enables a receiving party to output information containing information of a transmitting party that is embedded as “electronic watermark” in an image of the transmitting party.
As described above, methods of visually expressing the intentions and feelings of the users to insure smooth communication on the network have been available in the past, but the following problems have yet been left unsolved.
In the existing mail, board system and chat system, the speakers state in many cases their views under anonymity. According to this method, however, the speakers need not take responsibility for their speech and reliability of the speech content is likely to drop. When the mating party of communication is utterly of unknown identity, deeper communication is difficult in some cases. Nonetheless, disclosure of the information of the speakers such as their real names to the public is not preferable from the aspect of protection of privacy and also because the range in which communication is possible becomes narrower.
The method of the afore-mentioned JP-A-11-312159 can certainly provide a feeling of affinity by using the avatar. However, this method does not have means for displaying the attribute information of the speaker or its mail address, whenever necessary, and does not either establish a communication system that places the responsibility on the information transmitting party for their speech content while protecting privacy. A method that expresses the speech content in a tree structure, or sequentially or randomly is known as described in JP-A-11-203227, but the speech content cannot be edited or built up in the form in which communication becomes easier. In other words, this method cannot edit the speech content on the basis of the attribute information of the speaker and its speech content such as a group to which the speaker belongs or genre of the speech content, and on the basis of the speech sequence in such a fashion that the history and the result of communication are expressed in a more comprehensible form.
In communication such as an electronic mail or an electronic chat, JP-A-2000-57327 can display information of the transmitting party upon request by the receiving party, but this technology does not at all take protection of privacy of the transmitting party into account.